Air Temperatures – The following maximum temperatures (F) were recorded across the state of Hawaii Tuesday:

79  Lihue, Kauai
83  Honolulu, Oahu
77  Molokai
81  Kahului, Maui
84  Kailua Kona
80  Hilo, Hawaii


Air Temperatures ranged between these warmest and coolest spots near sea level – and on the highest mountain tops on Maui and the Big Island…as of 743pm Tuesday evening:

 

Kailua Kona – 78
Hana airport, Maui – 68


Haleakala Summit –   39 (near 10,000 feet on Maui)
Mauna Kea Summit – 27 (13,000+ feet on the Big Island)


Hawaii’s Mountains – Here’s a link to the live web cam on the summit of near 13,800 foot Mauna Kea on the Big Island of Hawaii. This web cam is available during the daylight hours here in the islands…and when there’s a big moon shining down during the night at times. Plus, during the nights you will be able to see stars, and the sunrise and sunset too… depending upon weather conditions.

 


Aloha Paragraphs


http://media-cache-ak0.pinimg.com/736x/d4/5b/94/d45b9458d782b12b1c4513af101dbb7f.jpg
Nice warm sunshine has returned to the islands!


A few showers will fall, although not many…with
most areas being very pleasant Wednesday
and Thursday

A prolonged trade wind weather pattern will
continue through this work week, with the
trades in the moderately strong realms
for the most part

A new cold front is expected to arrive later
Friday into Saturday – which will bring strong
and gusty trade winds, with lots of showers…
especially along our windward coasts and slopes

Small Craft Wind Advisory…Alenuihaha Channel






The following numbers represent the most recent top wind gusts (mph), along with directions…as of Tuesday evening:

15  Mana, Kauai – NW
28  Kuaokala, Oahu – NNE
18  Molokai – NNE
27  Lanai – NE
22  Kahoolawe – NE
23  Kapalua, Maui – NE
28  Kealakomo, Big Island – NNE


Here are the latest 24-hour precipitation totals (inches) for each of the islands…as of Tuesday evening (545pm totals):

0.09  Puu Lua, Kauai
0.09  Poamoho RG 1, Oahu
0.00  Molokai
0.00  Lanai
0.00  Kahoolawe
0.01  Kaupo Gap, Maui
1.13  Pahoa, Big Island


We can use the following links to see what’s going on in our area of the north central Pacific Ocean. Here’s the latest NOAA satellite picture – the latest looping satellite image… and finally the latest looping radar image for the Hawaiian Islands.


~~~ Hawaii Weather Narrative ~~~



These late winter trade winds will blow across our tropical latitudes through the week, into next week…no end in sight. Here’s the latest weather map, showing the Hawaiian Islands, and the rest of the North Pacific Ocean. Here’s a real-time wind profile of the central Pacific…centered on the Hawaiian Islands. ~~~ We see a storm low pressure system far northwest of the state, with an associated cold front near the International Dateline. There’s also a cold front draping southward from the southeast Alaska coast…which is located to the northeast of Hawaii. Meanwhile, we see a high pressure system to our north…with a ridge of high pressure located to our northwest. Finally, there’s a surface trough of low pressure over the ocean to the east of the state, and to the north of Kauai. Our winds will be trade winds through the rest of this week. They will maintain more or less moderately strong levels through Friday, and then strengthen significantly Saturday into next week.

Satellite imagery shows clear skies, with just a handful of clouds scattered here and there in places…unusually clear. Meanwhile, there’s a deeper area of clouds well offshore to the northeast of the Big Island…with associated thunderstorms. There’s the looping radar image, showing light showers moving by Oahu, and towards the north shores of Maui and Molokai…at the time of this writing. Elsewhere around the state, skies are generally clear to partly cloudy and dry. Looking at this larger satellite image, which is in the looping mode, we can see the area of bright white higher level clouds, with embedded heavy showers, or even thunderstorms over the ocean well to our northeast.

We’re having some of the best winter of this winter season, as we approach the upcoming spring season. There will continue to be a few showers around the state, although we’re now involved with a drier weather pattern. This will leave our south and west facing leeward beaches experiencing fine weather, with nice weather gracing the north and east facing windward sides nice too. Looking further ahead, we’ll see another frontal cloud band arrive late Friday into Saturday. This front will usher in strong and gusty trade winds, and a period of cool showers…especially along our windward sides. The latest models suggest that these blustery trades will continue unabated well into next week. I’ll be back early Wednesday morning with your next new weather narrative from paradise, I hope you have a great Tuesday night wherever you’re spending it! Aloha for now…Glenn.

Here on Maui, at the 3,100 foot elevation, at my upper Kula, Maui weather tower, the air temperature was 51.6 degrees at 6am on this Tuesday morning. It’s just getting light enough for me to see clear skies over Maui this morning. There are a few puffy clouds over the West Maui Mountains, otherwise, it looks like its going to be a wonderful start to the day! It’s a bit nippy up here at my place, with the temperature having dipped down to 50.9 degrees here at 615am. In contrast, the Kahului airport, just down the mountain from here, was reporting a warmer 66 degrees. The Hana airport, out along the Hana coast of east Maui, was the coolest place in the state this morning…reporting a chilly 61 degrees.

~~~ It’s now mid-morning, at 1045am, under totally clear blue skies, a very light breeze, and a pleasant 68.5 degrees. It’s truly one of the nicest days we’ve had in a long time, in what seems like weeks at least. Glancing around here on Maui, other than a couple of very small popcorn-like clouds on the flanks of the West Maui Mountains…there are no other clouds in sight! I’ve been outside most of the morning, walking, playing ping pong with my neighbor, working around the property, and even was able to sit outside and have my breakfast with the cats, out on my weather deck. I had a bowl of organic 6-grain hot cereal, organic raisins, organic half and half…along with another bowl of organic vanilla yogurt, papaya, apple bananas, walnuts and almonds, and a big cup full of organic orange juice. I just now brewed up a cup of organic black tea, and will sit here for a while, and just chill out.

~~~ It’s now 110pm in the early afternoon, under generally light clouds, which are slowly developing along these slopes of the Haleakala Crater. It’s still way sunny as I glance around other areas of Maui at this time. I’m not surprised to see clouds starting to form, as they generally do under the influence of the sunshine beating down on the volcanic soils. The temperature here in Kula at the moment is 70 degrees, while down in Kahului at the same time, it was 80 degrees. The warmest temperature was 81 in Kailua Kona, although it could easily be 82-82 down in Kihei and Lahaina towns.

~~~ We’re into the early evening hours now at 605pm, under almost 100% clear skies! We finally had a banner day sunshine-wise, just about everywhere in the state. The latest looping satellite images show that the upper level low pressure system to our northwest, with its counterclockwise rotation, is spinning off an area of clouds and showers. This area of generally modest showers are taking aim on the windward sides of Oahu down through Maui County and the Big Island. The thunderstorms associated with the center of this low pressure system aren’t expected to migrate in our direction however. 

Sorry to hear that a friend of mine, Sharie Shima has passed away. She was a TV Meteorologist in Honolulu, during the same time that I was doing my TV Weather show here on Maui…that went out statewide. I didn’t see her often, mostly at the NWS Forecast Office, when I flew over there for meetings, for the Pacific Disaster Center…where I still work. She was a special woman, full of good cheer, happy to see you, and a great smile. It saddens me to have heard this news, passed on to me via an email message I just received.

World-wide tropical cyclone activity:


Atlantic Ocean: The Atlantic hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th.
Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


Here’s a satellite image of the Atlantic Ocean

Caribbean Sea:

Gulf of Mexico:

Here’s a satellite image of the Caribbean Sea…and the Gulf of Mexico.

Here’s the link to the National Hurricane Center (NHC)

Eastern Pacific: The Eastern Pacific hurricane season runs from May 15th through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


Here’s a wide satellite image that covers the entire area between Mexico, out through the central Pacific…to the International Dateline.


Central Pacific Ocean: The Central Pacific hurricane season runs from June 1st through November 30th. Here’s the 2013 hurricane season summary


Here’s a link to the Central Pacific Hurricane Center (CPHC)


North Pacific Ocean: There are no active tropical cyclones


South Pacific Ocean: Tropical Cyclone 18P (Luis) remains active in the southwest Pacific. Here’s the JTWC graphical track map, and a NOAA satellite image.


North and South Indian Oceans: There are no active tropical cyclones

Here’s a link to the Joint Typhoon Warning Center (JTWC)


Interesting: Bright colors in nature a sure sign of toxicity—or is it? – Brightly colored prey generally signify danger in the form of toxins for the predator. Predators instinctively know that a brightly colored prey is a sign of bad news and not a suitable meal. Researchers at Michigan State University however are exploring how this evolved and in the process found some animals have actually only imitated the trait in an effort to survive event though they are not poisonous.


According to Kenna Lehmann, MSU doctoral student of zoology, “In some cases, nonpoisonous prey gave up their protection of camouflage and acquired bright colors.” Her research was conducted through MSU’s BEACON Center for the Study of Evolution in Action. She wondered, “How did these imitators get past that tricky middle ground, where they can be easily seen, but they don’t quite resemble colorful toxic prey? And why take the risk?”


They take the risk because the evolutionary benefit of mimicry works. A nontoxic imposter benefits from giving off a poisonous persona, even when the signals are not even close. Predators, engrained to avoid truly toxic prey, react to the impersonations and avoid eating the imposters.


An example of truly toxic animals and their imitators are coral snakes and king snakes. While coral snakes are poisonous, king snakes are not. Even though king snakes are considered imperfect mimics, they are close enough that predators don’t bother them.


Why don’t all prey have these characteristics, and why don’t the imitators evolve to develop poison instead? Leaving the safety of the cryptic, camouflage peak to go through the exposed adaptive valley over many generations is a dangerous journey, Lehmann said.


“To take the risk of traversing the dangerous middle ground — where they don’t look enough like toxic prey — is too great in many cases,” she said. “Toxins can be costly to produce. If prey gain protection by colors alone, then it doesn’t make evolutionary sense to expend additional energy developing the poison.”


The results suggest that these communicative systems can evolve through gradual steps instead of an unlikely large single step. This gives insight into how complex signals, both sent and received, may have evolved through seemingly disadvantageous steps.


Rather than conduct experiments of voracious predators chasing and eating, or completely avoiding, prey, the scientists used evolving populations of digital organisms in a virtual world called Avida. Avida is a software environment developed at MSU in which specialized computer programs compete and reproduce. Because mutations happen when Avidians copy themselves, which lead to differences in reproductive rates, these digital organisms evolve, just like living things.